Francis boosts image as man of the people

(ANSA) - Vatican City, April 17 - Pope Francis continued to
show his common touch at Wednesday's general audience with an
impromptu hat-change, an enthusiastic reception of a replica
shirt of Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, and a fresh bout of
children-kissing.

Since his election on March 13, the Argentine pope has
gained plaudits for his genial and approachable style and the
humility that marked his namesake St Francis of Assisi, snubbing
many of the perks and trappings of office.

He has also been credited with making the papacy less lofty
and closer to the people than his somewhat shy and diffident
predecessor Benedict XVI did - despite virtually no doctrinal
differences between the pair.

The new pope, elected after Benedict became the first
pontiff in 700 years to voluntarily abdicate, has already formed
a committee of advisors to reform an allegedly dysfunctional
Curia, the Church's central management.

According to Rome's La Repubblica daily, Francis is also
set on making sure the Church meddles less in Italian politics.

The Silence of the Bishops in the Presidential Race, the
Interventionist Era Ends with Bergoglio, read a headline in
Wednesday's edition, using the pope's surname as archbishop
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires.

The left-leaning daily highlighted that the Italian
Bishops' Conference (CEI) had not supported any of the touted
candidates, despite some being "thoroughbred Catholics" with
credentials for dealing with Italy's economic and social woes.
Instead, CEI head Angelo Bagnasco has restricted himself to
repeated calls to break the stalemate 50 days after an
inconclusive general election and "tackle the problems of the
Italian people, who can't cope any more".

Doctrinally, however, Francis has so far been just as
staunch a traditionalist as Benedict.

Just this week the Vatican said the new pope would continue
the Church's critical position on the majority of American nuns
for deviating from official Catholic doctrine.

Gerhard Mueller, prefect of Church orthodoxy watchdog
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, met Monday with
directors from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
(LCWR), which represents more than 80% of American nuns.

In April last year the LCWR was chided in a Vatican report
for allegedly promoting "radical feminist themes" and devoting
too much time to social justice while remaining unacceptably
quiet on the Church's opposition to birth control and same-sex
marriage.

Mueller said he recently discussed the report with the
pope, "who reaffirmed its conclusions and the reform plan for
LCWR".

The reforms, which included getting the group's statutes
and by-laws in line with official Vatican doctrine, have been
put off by LCWR leaders, who have cited a need to have a further
ecclesial dialogue with the Holy See.

Francis is also known to have the same stiff position on
abortion, gay rights and other ethical issues as his German
predecessor.

But their personal styles could not be more different - as
shown again on Wednesday.
First, Francis swapped his white cap for another offered by
a worshipper in St Peter's Square and kept it on through the
general audience.

During his tour of the flock in the square, in which he
kissed and caressed countless kids, the pope paused at a certain
point to receive the white cap, being proffered by someone in
the crowd.
Francis immediately took his own cap off of his head, gave
it to the person - who was beyond the barricade - and put the
new cap on his head.

The pope kept it in place for the duration of the general
audience.

Shortly afterwards the pope was visibly happy to get a
soccer shirt with his countryman Messi's name on it from another
group of well-wishers.

The soccer-loving pope appeared very enthusiastic about the
gift, a No.10 Barcelona replica shirt with four-time world
player of the year Messi's name on it.

As Buenos Aires archbishop, Francis was an open fan of one
of the Argentine capital's clubs, San Lorenzo, and he still
follows their fortunes form afar.

The pope has still not moved into a specially appointed
deluxe apartment in the Vatican, preferring to stay in St
Martha's House, a spartan residence where he and the other
cardinals stayed during the March conclave.

Earlier this week he took the lift everyone else uses up to
his floor, rather than using the special 'papal elevator'
installed there.
Adding to his image of man of the people are Francis's
long-ago experiences of dancing the tango with a girlfriend and
working as a night-club bouncer.

Some say he may rival the beloved and soon-to-be-canonised
Polish pope, John Paul II, a former actor, in his gift for
reaching out in just the right way.